Historical Traveler Reviews Hotel Central Geneva

Great value

from anonymous

This is not a fancy place, but very comfortable and a good value. The location is excellent. It is right on the edge of Geneva's old town. You can walk around the old town. You are also near the tram system. There is one (#16) tht takes you directly to the train station. Very convenient.

Decent for the price

from OffTheBeatenPath

In July 2004, we stayed in one of the hotel's standard rooms, which had a private bathroom and a balcony. The rooms aren't huge, but are colorful and the furnishings are adequate. The air conditioning is a real advantage in the summer, as it was starting to get quite warm while we were in Geneva. The location is, truly, central. We arrived by boat from Montreux and had no problem using the map off the web site to find the hotel.

I had only a few small complaints about the hotel. The staff speaks very little English and no German; those being my two strong languages (my French is very basic), it created a few issues. The main problem was that there are no instructions for the phone in the room. Soon after we arrived, the message light started flashing, but we couldn't figure out how to get the message. As a few of our relatives back home were unwell, I started worrying that something had happened, yet I couldn't get the message to find out. The first person we asked spoke no English; she had someone else call our room with instructions, but the instructions he gave didn't work. I asked my husband to go downstairs and ask again, thinking I perhaps hadn't correctly understood the fragmentary English, but he was given the same instructions, which again didn't work. In the end I had to start calling various relatives back home to make sure everything was okay. Also, breakfast was served in the room, and was nothing more than a croissant, coffee, and jam. Unfortunately, for those on special diets, these are inedible. However, I'm guessing this is the standard breakfast in French-speaking Switzerland (I was used to getting meat and cheese in addition to bread in German Switzerland).

Overall, though, I'd say the Hotel Central was a good value for the money.

Almost perfect

from sinbad11

I stayed with my wife for 3 nights in hotel central from 6th of july,the hotel location cant be better ,less than 5 minuts from the train station,2 minuts from the old town,1 minute from the lake and in the heart of the shopping area,and stell very quite hotel,we had a room in the 7th floor-the hotel is in the 6th and the 7th floor of a nice belding-with private toilet and shower,it was very quite with air cooler and very comfortable bed,it was simple room but very clean and in a very good condetion and from our balcony we could see part from lake geneva,the toilet also was very clean,but when we wanted to take a shower we had to wait 10 minuts since we turn on the shower untel the water become warm.

The staff was very friendly,the breakfast which is served in the room was vey nice-specialy the sweet bread-.

It was very pleasent staying in this hotel,and i had nothing against it,and i think whenevr we are going back to Geneva we will defenetly choese Hotel Central again...

Nightmare

from Aleksandral

My fiance and I arrived at this hotel on the correct day and correct time of our reservation to find that the hotel had no record of our confirmation. They claimed to be fully booked and refused to sort the issue out for us. It was 21:15 and a very busy Friday night for all the hotels in town.

As a seasoned traveller, I had printed off the e-mail correspondance between myself and the hotel manager as well as the credit confirmation number that was automatically issued by Hotel Central's e-mail feedback form. We presented this to the clerk who, seeing that all my paperwork was in order inclouding the dates and times of arrival, tried to get the manager to speak to me. She refused to come out of her office and address us face to face and proceeded to scream through the door that she has "no record" of anything promised and that the e-mails I had were not confirmation at all but simply "correspondance".

I was terribly ill with a high fever and we were both exhausted from a full day's travel so we tried to be as polite as possible (we spoke in French - so no one would accuse us of being culturally insensitive) while insisting that we get a room either there or somewhere, anywhere in the city within our budget.

The hotel clerk called the actual owner and explained the horrible incident describing to him that he saw clearly that we had reservations and that we were both in bad shape. The owner stated there was nothing he could do other than send us to a hotel that was $250 US a night (a far cry for what Hotel Central was charging) as there were no more rooms in his hotel.

As all this was unfolding one of the Swiss guests that was in the lobby witnessing this entire nightmare stated to the clerk that he was appalled at the manager who is refusing to assist in what was clearly the hotel's responsibilty. He turned to us and said that he was ashamed for the behaviour of the hotel and that we should not judge Geneva by their actions. Perhaps this motivated the clerk because...

At this point (22:30) the hotel clerk looked through his booking forms and saw that he had two rooms given out to a couple of travellers that could potentially bunk together. He said he could put both of us in one single room and leave the other travellers to share the remaining room. We said we didn't care if we got a broom closet at that point and quickly accepted his offer but feeling badly for the travellers that would soon find out they no longer had their own private rooms.

We thanked the clerk profusely for having done something for us (I was on the verge of tears as it was looking like we were going to spend the night on the streets due to overbooking) and we passed out on the lumpy twin bed that we were offered.

The hotel was plain and located in a rather dull part of town but all in all, if it were not for the drama that unfolded the night before, would have rated as below average if not for the low cost.

My suggestion to any traveller who books with this hotel is not to depend on your reservation or on the professionalism of this hotel. Neither means anything to this establishment.

Best we can get in expensive Geneva

from anonymous

I stayed one night in early June, 2004.

Following the email instruction, we easily found the hotel in the center of Geneva.

If you love shopping, this location can't be better.

With 135CHF in Geneva, I doubt anybody can expect more out of a clean room with balcony, partial lake view, heavenly duvet, and nice breakfast in room.

The bathroom is small, but I have seen smaller one in europe. The reception lady we met doesn't speak a lot English, but she's pretty enthusiastic.

I didn't have any problem with noise and heat, the sleep was perfect.

I would stay again if I have chance going back there.

Fabulous Blind Pick!!! Great value!

from klsnyc805

When looking for a one-night stopover hotel in geneva before heading on to the Chamonix Valley, we picked Hotel Central because of a good review it received in Frommer's. Traveling with 11 people made it difficult to find rooms together, but Hotel Central had 3 rooms left and were able to accomodate us on Feb 14th. The rate was really reasonable - quoted on the website - and I communicated with the hotel manager via email for the booking and confirmation. Upon arrival, we took the #10 bus to the Bel Air stop and walked easily to the hotel. We checked in early and had no problems. The rooms were on the small side with many beds in them, but they were SO COMFORTABLE. The linens were like a 5 star hotel. Check out was easy as well, and they delivered breakfast and tea/coffee between 7 and 9 as requested (included in the room fee). If I return to Geneva, I would stay here again! The location was great - it was easy to walk to the lake, the bar & resuarant district and the main strip. We didn't notice any noise, but our windows were closed. Each room also has a balcony...

Good Location, Loud Revellers

from anonymous

Location is key in this hotel, although be forewarned that the map as shown on the website is somewhat more difficult to follow than one might expect - make sure to set some time aside finding the hotel. The rooms are small but clean, and have great views. However, the biggest complaint you may have is the significant noise from the revellers going late into the night (read ALL night, 5 to 6 AM) and street noise from loading / unloading at various shops and businesses around the area. Not really a fault of the hotel, it just seems the location grants a nasty echo effect. If you like keeping your windows open, plan on earplugs to avoid awaking.

I never really heard anything from neighbors, nor did I notice particularly thin walls as noted by another reviewer. Most noise will come from the street.

Plan on following up any reservation to ensure you're getting what you asked for - email is convenient for this. Breakfast is included and the staff was particularly helpful in finding nearby restaurants and attractions. The Bus #10 to the Bel-Air stop is the easiest way to connect to this hotel from the airport, and the bus ride takes a mere 10 minutes or so.

A decent hotel

from anonymous

We stayed here in June 2003 for 3 nights; overall it was a decent experience. The hotel is definitely a little hard to find at first (it shares and elevator with an office building) but the location is fantastic. Our room was pretty standard but a little small and with pretty thin walls. Which leads me to our only real dissapointment - noise. Hearing our neighbors all night the first night, and then drunks outside the next night, we were not feeling very well rested. But our third and final night made up for it - we watched an amazing sunset from our balcony, followed by a thunderstorm (which kept the drunks away) and slept really well. Overall this hotel's best asset is it's location.

Nice hotel

from anonymous

I had been to this wonderful hotel at June 2003.The location is quite good. (But we had spent quite long time to find out the hotel, once you know the location then you'll find it is location in a very good place). The room is very clean & comfortable. The breakfast which is serve in the room is grate!! If you are boring there, then you can go to the counter to take some VHS to watch. (The flims are quite new).

NICE HOTEL!

Nice hotel

from anonymous

We stayed there for one night at the end of June, 2003. The location was absolutely great. We got a standard room with private bathroom. The room is big and pretty nice. The breakfast was served in the room so that we could have it on the balcony. It's really a pleasant memory.

The problem was the room was very hot, we could not open the windows since it would be too noisy. The owner should provide some fans in summer.

TripAdvisor Reviews Hotel Central Geneva

Very Good

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